Abstract

Kashmir lies in region where temperature in winter is very low. The temperature in Kashmir is often below 0°C during couple of months winter. Concrete mixed, transported and placed under low temperatures requires an understanding for the adverse effects of such environmental factors on the durability of concrete. The damage caused by extreme weather conditions can never be fully eliminated but efforts can be made to minimize these adverse effects. This research was undertaken to investigate the effects of Extreme weather on different properties of concrete and influence of early temperature on the strength of concrete. Three temperatures, two 5°C and one 25°C were selected and maintained for the first three days for freshly prepared concrete and during the early hardening state of concrete. After three days all the samples were cured at room temperature. The most common traditional mix of 1:2:4 was selected for the research work because it is used for maximum construction projects. Admixtures Sodium Nitrite was used to see useful effects of these during extreme weather conditions. After the conduct of research, it has been concluded that cold wheather concreting has serious effect on different properties of concrete, like strength, workability and rate of hardening, during the early hardening state.To eliminate the ill effects, it is the duty of the designer/engineer to plan in advance the selection of materials, types quality and quantity of admixtures and coordination of all phases of work so that conreting can be done safely without damage from freezing throughout the winter months in cold climates.